Track and Field Record Strong Performances in Season Opener

BOSTON, Mass. – The 2011-12 indoor track and field season got off to a promising start for the Beacons as they competed in the 2011 Jay Carisella Track and Field Invitational hosted by Northeastern University at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Amongst the afternoons top performers were the duo Tylor Hart (Newton, Mass.) and Ervin Lofton (Ann Arbor, Mich.), who each leaped their way into the record book in the high jump event. The two finished in seventh and eighth place respectively with their leaps of 6-04.00.

Running away with the Beacons first top-finish of the season was Josh Quinnie (Attleboro, Mass.) the 55 meter hurdles. The freshman posted a qualifying time of 7.73 seconds, which he then followed-up with a time of 7.68 in the finals to defeat his closest competitor by three-hundredths of a second. His final time ranks second all-time in the UMass Boston men’s indoor track and field records.

Also having a strong showing was Kebba Nasso (Attleboro, Mass.), who placed seventh in the 400 meter dash with a time of 51.14 seconds. Jake Kerin (Quincy, Mass.) was just as impressive as he finished in eighth place in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:37.57.

In the 55 meter dash, Norbert Simon (Chelsea, Mass.) led the Beacons with a time of 7.02 seconds to earn a 40th place finish overall. Right behind him was Lofton in 43rd place with his time of 7.06 seconds. Nhat Nguyen (Hanoi, Vietnam) posted a time of 7.54 seconds (67th) and Dylon King (Boston, Mass.) finished with a time of 7.62 seconds (72nd).

The 200 meter dash saw five Beacons take to the track, with Simon once again leading the pack with his final time of 23.91 seconds (24th). Quinnie crossed the line in 31st place (24.17), followed by Lofton in 43rd (24.39), Brandon Couloute (Shelton, Mass.) in 52nd (24.94), Hart in 59th (25.22), and King in 82nd (27.33).

Along with Nasso in the 400 was Henry Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) who closed out the event with a time of 52.61 seconds to finish in 12th place. Willie Francois (Roslindale, Mass.) closed out the event for UMass Boston with a time of 1:01.22.

Couloute was the lone competitor in the 500 meter dash, and recorded a final time of 1:10.25. Moving into the distance events, Hamza Abdul (Chelsea, Mass.) crossed the finish line in 13th place with a time of 2:43.28 in the 1,000 meter run. Andre Malcolm (Cambridge, Mass.) and Jeff Laurore (Malden, Mass.) finished in 20th and 22nd place respectively with their times of 2:53.01 and 3:02.18.

The mile run belonged to Xhulio Uruci (Newton, Mass.) who finished in the top-15 with a time of 4:28.78, as nearly beat Division I runner Dean Bhatt. The 4x400 relay saw two Beacons squads compete with Couloute, Hart, Nasso, and Morales leading the way with a combined time of 3:30.03 (5th).

After their record-setting high jump performance, went on to place ninth in the long jump (20-05.75). Simmons earned a top-20 finish in the event with his leap of 19-06.75 feet. Nasso finished in 27th place (18-02.25), followed by Lofton (16-03.75) and Morales (13-07.50).

Lenford Coote (Brooklyn, N.Y.) closed out the field events for UMass Boston, with his toss of 31-08.00 feet in the shot put.

The women’s team was just as impressive in Saturday’s huge meet which featured teams from Division I, II, III as well as a variety of track and field clubs.

Samara Faustin (Boston, Mass.) led the way in the 55 meter dash with her time of 7.80 seconds to earn a top-25 finish. Nicole West (Randolph, Mass.) was next to cross the finish line with a time of 8.75. Faustin was also the top finisher for UMass Boston in the 200 meter dash, as she crossed the finish line in 23rd place with a time of 27.81 seconds.

Ari Leao (New Bedford, Mass.) was next for the Beacons with a time of 28.90 seconds, followed by West (31.79), and Naomi Crandall (Otis, Mass.) (32.30). In the 800 meter run Leao continued to push herself to finish in the top-15 with a time of 2:33.02.

In the shot put Kaity Merrikin (East Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded a toss of 24-09.25 feet, while Kassandra Salcedo (Winchendon, Mass.) managed a throw of 22-00.75 feet. The duo also competed in the weight throw and went on to record throws of 24-08.50 and 21-10.75 feet respectively.

Track and field will return to competition next Saturday when they compete in the Harvard University Open. Start time is scheduled for 10 a.m.